Mobile advertising to surge as companies learn to pinpoint users

The amount of money spent on advertising on mobile phones will more than
double by 2016, as smartphones claim more and more of people’s time and
attention, new research claims.

Traditionally, advertisers have struggled to get their messages across effectively on small mobile phone screens, but things are starting to change as companies learn to harness mobile phone data so that they can target their adverts at exactly the right users.

Traditionally, advertisers have struggled to get their messages across effectively on small mobile phone screens, but things are starting to change as companies learn to harness mobile phone data so that they can target their adverts at exactly the right users.

The soaring popularity of smartphones and tablet devices and proliferation of mobile phone “apps” will also help to fuel a jump in advertising revenues, according to technology analysis firm, Gartner. They are expected to rise from $9.6bn last year to $24.5bn in 2016.

“This market is becoming easier to segment and target, driving the growth of mobile advertising spend for brands,” said Andrew Frank, Gartner’s research vice president.

Some of the increase comes at the expense of traditional print advertising, particularly with local newspapers.

Mobile advertising revenues are expected to grow most in Japan and South Korea, more than doubling to $9.5bn. They will jump from $1.6bn to $4.5bn in Western Europe, the research said.